wellies...

I have always wanted a pair of my own... But I am perfectly content living vicariously through our little boy to come. My sweet Grandma Rose sent these in the mail. So cute.

what not to say.

So I am 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant and over these last few weeks I have decided, in all my new found wisdom and ripe, bold pregnant demeanor, I should compile a list of things you should not say to a pregnant woman. Yes, the reason I know you should not say these things is because they have each been said to me (recently). So please, take note. I first mention what has been said to me and in parenthesis I have noted why it is not appropriate to say or what I only wish I had said in reply. My momma will be proud that I did not choose to say these things.

1. "Wow, you look how I feel." (Folks, what is this supposed to mean? I didn't say anything... I just grinned, and thought about how the blog I was compiling was only getting better thanks to fools like her.)
2. "Geesh, you look miserable." (Really?? Because the funny thing is I AM NOT... but you probably are.)
3. "How far along are you?" ( pause for my response ...) "Oh really, that's all?" (This can only make a preggo feel fat. That is all it can do. If you ask her how far along she is, you MUST follow up with "you look great"... It's not that hard... just do it. It's 3 words.)
4. "Are you just ready to pop, or what?" (Pop your face is what I'm ready to do.)
5. "Now I just don't think I was that big at 25 weeks when I had my triplets." (Said in a sweet southern draw from a very tall thin woman... do I need to really tell you what I was thinking? Im sure you can assume so I don't have to get totally tacky on my blog.)
6. "Now, that is going to be one BIG 'ol boy, isn't it?" (Nope, its going to be a TINY little thing. I am just getting fat for fun... the baby seriously is still the size of a pea.)
7. "Are you sure they got your due date right? From the looks of things, you are going to be earlier than that." (At this point I had received so many comments about how I had 'popped' all of the sudden and my belly was so big that I just wanted to tell her some obscure thing like, "Well, I went to the doctor yesterday and the strange thing is there is not only a little boy in here, there is also a PONY. Miracle, right??!! So, you are right... I might have to deliver a little early with how complicated things might get birthing a boy and HORSE on the same day.")

now this is the true champion of all amazing comments...

8. "Wow, you really are blimping up now aren't you... I can see it in your face!" (What's funny is I have this rare type of pregnancy where the baby is actually growing IN my face. You are actually the first one to notice.)

So here's the thing. If what you are wanting to say to a pregnant girl involves the word blimping, big, pop, or 'i can see it in your face'... please refrain. We can all do without... We are just trying to make it to the end.

I have taken these comments in stride... and mostly just laughed really hard with good friends about how ridiculous some people can be. In all honesty, I am thankful that I have some good stories to share... So if you'd like, don't heed my advice and keep 'em coming. I will just blog about you.

a tree

Zach went hunting this weekend and I took it upon myself to do a little project of my own. Hopefully... if you were a judger of a the bright orange... you can start to see the vision with this project. I knew all along I wanted a tree on the wall in the room somewhere...and I finally arrived at the right idea. I painted a silver tree on the wall and used fabric scraps to collage leaves (and one tiny bird) all around. I hope this is something our little man will enjoy looking at (and lets be honest, probably picking at) for a while to come.



Im starting to feel like it needs more leaves. Input? I decided to stop when I felt like it was possible for me to go overboard (I have been known to do that) but now I'm considering more... opinions welcome.







I love fabric.

while I was away...

Z finished the dresser! Before I left he asked me to pick a color so he could work on it while I was in Forth Worth visiting Jen and new baby Russell... I had no idea it would be totally finished and put back in the nursery when I got back. He never ceases to amaze me. I chose a bold shade of orange ('life vest orange' to be exact... and please, no judging on the brightness. I have a vision...)

The guy not only painted the thing, he put the hardware back on and went to the store to pick out some DARLING shelf paper to line the drawers and cabinet.






A job well done.

Russell in all of his cuteness

There isn't much to say aside from the fact that he is adorable... what a blessing!

This one goes out to Jen.

Having no sisters of my own, I have acquired a few girlfriends over the years that have 'sister status' in my life... and Jennifer Jo Harwell is one of them. (I even went so far as to embarrass myself at her rehearsal dinner by saying in my speech that I wished I was in the pictures of her and her REAL sister, Sarah, growing up... too far? maybe so. probably so.) Well, my dear sweet sister friend Jen is going to have a sweet baby boy tomorrow and I just wanted to toss some love out into the interweb... Russell Graham Harwell was weighing in at a ripe 9 lbs. and 8oz when she was at the doc on Monday... and so, for obvious reasons, they are going to invite our little linebacker into the world on Wednesday, whether he is 'ready' or not. We are praying for all the best health and memories...for tomorrow is a BIG DAY!



On our trip to New York this summer... Jen was already with child. Every time we indulged in a glass of wine, she would grab the glass before we could sip it and just take a sniff... longingly.

Here's to having a glass of wine in celebration, so soon... Love you, sister!

Progress

So much to do and so little time. Somehow, although there are almost 4 months left, this is how we felt this weekend...and I really feel like we made some progress! The room got cleaned out (for the most part... still deciding on the fridge... thanks for the ideas!), the furniture was assembled, and we sanded and sanded and sanded a great piece we picked up from a thrift store in Ruidoso... for $25! Anyone ever sanded a piece of furniture with 2 different coats of paint?? It's not the most fun... but the end result is satisfying. Now we have a clean slate for painting.



We purchased our first sander. Something tells me it won't be the last.



The man hard at work.



Proof of progress.



The rocker. It looks like it wants to give me a hug... and I think I will need all the hugs it can offer when we are up at the wee hours feeding and trying to rock little man back to sleep. (have I mentioned yet that we are having a BOY?)



The crib. We thought this seemed modern, timeless, simple... and best of all not $1000 like all the other ones I liked.

A new room for a new life.

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out to one of those giant baby stores and made the 2 big purchases... crib, and rocker. The only major let down at the end of a great day of spending money, was that the crib wasn't going to be in for 16 weeks (we of course chose the one that wasn't even in production yet... THEN WHY IS IT IN THE CATALOG ALREADY?) and the rocker was going to take 12 weeks. Well, I am thrilled to say that they lied and both items are in!

This spurred us to get the nursery going... and because Zach is involved... we got going fast. I purchased new paint earlier this week. I thought the color that was there was fine, great in fact... but Zach likened it to baby vomit and said we would see enough of that in the future. If it 'gets' on the walls its different than choosing for it to 'be' the walls. I decided to compromise and at least stay in the green family. Because I didn't feel it NEEDED to be painted... I said I would cut in the base boards (who wants to see a 6'4" guy buckled over showing some crack trying to do that??) but that would be my only paint contribution. (For all you worriers, yes, I wore an intense mask and we buy only low voc paints...) There were plenty of other nesting tasks to take care of. I took down Christmas, did laundry, cleaned, and I went to check on him at lunch and he was done! The color looks great... glad I compromised.

We are picking up the crib and rocker today around lunch time and putting them in the room to get things really going. Only problem is the room still has stuff in it. I say 'stuff' loosely. The room has important, memorable items in it... Items that are going to have to find a new home. Hopefully we can re purpose some of my favorite things to the garage until further notice, but I am afraid some might have to go... like the guitar. When you haven't played the guitar since freshman year of college when you purchased it on a whim (so typical and embarrassing), it might be time to let someone else play it. Or shall I say, let SOMEONE play it. The guitar needs a new home. I have someone in mind... He is 10 years old and very cute. I'll see if he is interested. The other 'item' in the room that will be hard for me to let go of is my sweet grandmother's old refrigerator.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but its not just any fridge... its a 1950's GE rounded corner beauty. When she was moving out of her house and into an Alzheimer's facility I got a few things from her home, and the fridge might be my fave. My memories might be so fond because the freezer section always had girlscout cookies in it (literally ALWAYS) and the fridge was stocked with Fresca and Dr. Pepper (sugary treats not usually in the Rose house). Or, I might just love that it was her's and now it's mine. Oouida Belle Dorr inspired me in so many ways, with all her quilting and counseling... I hope someday to make even a tenth of an impact she made on this place. Not ready to let go of the fridge yet, hopefully we can just move it to the garage and I can use it for art storage.

Here she is. (and if you look closely you can see the new wall color, pleasantly called 'elemental')

Explosion

I couldn't wait for Zach to get home from work to document what had happened... My belly shot out like a cannon. I'm not sure if it was all the Christmas treats just finally taking their place in basketball form or our little one making a turn... but it appears that the 24 week bump has made an entrance. VERY curious about how big this puppy is going to get.

Please excuse the smushed face and just know I wanted to share this with the world... awkward pose and all. Funny thing is I got an amazing tripod for Christmas and it didn't occur to me to use it until mid post. The mirror and smushed up face will have to do for now. I'll show off my tripod skills later.